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  • Essay / Life Challenges with Humor in 'Born a Crime': The Life of Trevor Noah

    In Trevor Noah's 2016 book, Born a Crime, he recounts growing up in South Africa under the racially segregated government politically sanctioned known as apartheid, and the first two long periods of a reasonable level by the dark largest part of the country. The story is based on a mischievous young man, who struggles to find himself in reality as we know it, where he should never have existed. It is also the story of Noah's association with his bold, defiant and intensely religious mother - his companion, a lady determined to spare her child the cycle of want, brutality and abuse that would ultimately undermine his own life. Born in 1984 to a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father, Noah is not only an anomaly in South Africa's politically sanctioned racial segregation, but his reality is actually illegal in that system prohibits connections between individuals of different races. In my essay, I will explain how comedian Trevor Noah addressed issues of language, race, and ethnicity in apartheid South Africa, as well as the various sociological concepts that may be related to them. As well as explaining how Noah was able to live in a society where being biracial was not accepted. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Part 1 of Born a Crime, Noah explained apartheid in South Africa as an arrangement of social isolation based on race, language, and ethnicity. “The genius of apartheid was to convince the people, who were the overwhelming majority, to turn against each other. » “Apart from the hatred, that's what it is. You separate people into groups and make them hate each other so you can lead them all.” This allowed the separation of South Africans into different tribes by different languages ​​such as Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Sotho, Tsonga, etc. Different tribes had different levels of rights and privileges, turning them against each other. This separation allowed whites to have the majority of power and control over the South African population. With Noah learning different languages, there were definitely his good times and his bad times. At the age of nine, Noah, his mother and his newborn brother were in a minibus in South Africa when the driver started driving crazy. The driver figured out that Noah's mother was from an alternative tribe because she spoke in Xhosa and starts making comments about the dangers. Noah's mother realizes that if she doesn't act, her children's lives will be in danger. Suddenly, as Noah falls asleep, his mother throws him out of the minibus and then jumps in with the baby wrapped in her arms: "What was that?!" Why are we running?!' 'What do you mean? “Why are we running? “These men were trying to kill us.” “You never told me!” You just threw me out of the car! “I told you.” “Why didn’t you jump?” 'Leap?! I was sleeping! » "So I should have left you there so they could kill you?" “At least they would have woken me up before killing me.” As Noah was only nine years old at the time, he did not understand the circumstances and dangers he was in if his mother had not thrown him out of the minibus. As Noah grows, he is able to investigate his initial recognition of his differences and struggles to characterize himself in relation to South Africa's different local ethnic gatherings. By learning various languages, Noah recognized, he could interact with almost anyone and adapt tocircumstances where it is dangerous to be an outcast. Noah saw it as a way to navigate, cross boundaries and manage situations. There was an incident where Noah was walking down the street in South Africa, when a group of Zulu people were walking behind him, closing in on him. The Zulu guys speaking in Zulu said, “Let’s go get this white guy.” You go to the left and I will come from behind.” Frightened, Noah turned around and responded in Zulu, "Yo guys, why don't we just mug someone together?" I'm ready. Let's do it." The Zulu boys were shocked that Noah was one of them and started apologizing because all they wanted to do was steal from white individuals. Noah n did not allow his social identity, such as his race or ethnicity, to define who he was. Noah was confronted with a daily reality in which he identified as black, but was considered by others as mixed race. Noah went against the norms of identifying as a colored South African and used his diverse language to his advantage. Noah having such a diverse vocabulary allowed him to be accepted into different social groups in South Africa. which would generally be frowned upon for going against the social norm When Noah was born in 1984, during the apartheid era, his mother was a black woman. father was a white man and as miscegenation laws condemned sexual relations between races, the introduction of a biracial child violated the law and Noah was known as "born a crime". To enlighten every interracial couple who had a child, they would threaten to execute him. Especially blacks and whites. Growing up, Noah faced the challenges and dangers of being a biracial child, but he didn't allow it to change who he was. As a child, Noah's mother had to constantly hide him because of his complexion. He was considered colored, known to have a mixed race, independent and separate from blacks and whites. During apartheid, some families saw their fathers flee to different countries or urban areas to escape their fate, to protect themselves and their families. Noah's father was one of them, Noah and his mother had to sneak out to see his father. The only time Noah could see his father was inside and if they went out, his father would cross the street because that raised a lot of questions. As a child, Noah couldn't leave the playground like other children because his family was too afraid he would be arrested and taken away by the police. Noah felt strangely separated from his cousins ​​and neighbors, but he didn't yet understand why he was considered so unique. If children were in the wrong color zone, they could be taken away by the police, removed from their parents' care and sent to an orphanage. When Noah was three years old, he was tired of being kept inside the fence while everyone else could go play. So he dug a hole under the fence and managed to get out. His family panicked and a search team went out and found him. Not knowing he had put his family in danger, they could have been deported, Grandma could have been arrested, Mom sent to prison, and Noah could have been sent away. For many years, Noah had to consciously navigate and learn the ways of society to protect himself and his family. Growing up as a biracial child, I can relate to Noah in terms of similar aspects. People frowned or looked at my mother funny because she had mixed children. At first, my grandparents didn't accept the fact that my mother was with a black man. Just like my friends.